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Philippines, 22 Feb 2026 |
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2026 USA Boxing Elite High Performance Set to Compete at Strandja 2026 Boxing Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria PhilBoxing.com Sun, 22 Feb 2026 Fourteen Boxers Travel to Bulgaria for First Elite High Performance International Event of 2026 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (February 20, 2026) – The USA Boxing Elite High Performance Team is traveling to Sofia, Bulgaria, for the 77th International Strandja Boxing Tournament, marking the team’s first international event of 2026. The Strandja 2026 event will be hosted in Sofia, Bulgaria, from Feb. 23 to March 2. The USA Boxing roster of Elite High Performance competitors features 14 athletes, including seven males and seven females. Team USA is excited to see many boxers make their elite international debuts, including team captain Salim Ellis-Bey. This past summer, the Philadelphia native was USA Boxing’s Youth High Performance team captain and won gold at the 2025 Brandenburg Cup in Germany. Now, Ellis-Bey is a team captain for the USA Boxing Elite High Performance team and is excited for his elite international debut. "The team and I are feeling great," Ellis-Bey exclaimed of the athletes traveling to Bulgaria. "We had a great camp and everyone is prepared to show up and show out. This year, we are eager to make big waves in the World Boxing scene and bring lots of medals back to the States." Also making their elite international debut are Ellis-Bey’s 2025 Youth teammates and gold medalists at the 2025 Brandenburg Cup, Lorenzo Juanito Patricio, Lavant Brownlee and Joseph Awinongya. In addition to gold in Germany, Patricio and Awinongya also won gold at the 2024 World Boxing U19 Championships in Pueblo, Colo. Among the roster are Marcus Luther, who will make his highly anticipated Team USA debut, Robby “Rahim” Gonzales, who won gold at the 2021 World Championships, and Kelvin Watts, who won two bronze international medals with USA Boxing’s Elite High Performance Team last year. As for the Women’s Team, they are led by team captain and Paris 2024 Olympian, Alyssa Mendoza. The Idaho native is looking to make a run at her second Olympics, and with LA 2028 on the horizon, the team captain is excited for her first international event in 2026. "I am excited to see how our team will compete internationally and transfer the work from the gym into the ring," Mendoza stated on her excitement for the Strandja 2026 event. "This team has already shown that it is hungry to add more experience, individually and as a team so that we may begin this year in the right direction, being more driven to become the best in the world, God willing." Joining Mendoza on the Women’s Team is 2025 World Boxing Championships silver medalist, Yoseline Perez. The Houston native was the only American boxer to win a medal in every international competition last year, earning three silver medals and one gold. Also competing in Bulgaria is Naomi Graham, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian and 2019 Pan American Games gold medalist. Rounding out the Women’s Team are Simona Winkler, Marie-Angelis Rosendo, Alisha Crockett, and Jennifer Lozano. Winkler and Rosendo represented Team USA last year, including Rosendo, who won silver at the 2025 World Boxing Challenge Grand Prix Usti Nad Labem. Crockett will make her Team USA and international debut at the 77th International Strandja Boxing Tournament. Team USA’s 51 kg representative, Noelle Haro, will not compete in Bulgaria due to an injury. USA Boxing will have 2026 Elite Women’s High Performance Squad member and Paris 2024 Olympian Jennifer Lozano replace Haro at the 77th International Strandja Boxing Tournament. Lozano captured a bronze medal for the United States last year at the World Boxing Cup Brazil. USA Boxing will be led at the Strandja 2026 tournament by Head Coach Billy Walsh (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and assisted by Elite High Performance Coach Nikki Burleson (Oklahoma City, Okla.). In addition to Walsh and Burleson, Elite High Performance pool coaches Alex Love (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Billy Rafalko (Philadelphia, Penn.) and Jeffrey Nimo (Grand Prairie, Texas) will assist the coaching efforts in Bulgaria.  |
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